COVER STORY
DOING WELL by DOING GOOD for VETERANS A LOOK AT THIS YEAR’S DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD WINNERS
BY S U S A N M CCO R K I N DA L E
W
hile this year’s Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce Distinguished Service Awards were presented virtually, the excitement and enthusiasm among the recipients was no less real. Each of the companies, individuals, and organizations honored this year have dedicated time and resources to making the veteran reintegration process easier and to providing employment opportunities for those who served. In addition, this year’s veteran service organization, Boulder Crest Foundation, offers crucial mental health assistance to veterans and their families. While we’re all well aware of how hard veterans struggle to reintegrate into the community when they return from tours abroad, these unsung heroes have done, and continue to do, something about it. On behalf of the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce and The Business Voice, congratulations and thank you. ★ 2020 VETER AN OWNED BUSINESS - EMERGING
★ 2020 VETER AN OWNED BUSINESS - MATURING
ECHO FIVE GROUP
IT VETERANS
Founded just three years ago by president and CEO John Kinsler, a former U.S. Marine accustomed to putting mission and vision first and approaching any problem with a “can do” attitude, Echo Five Group (EFG) today has five fulltime employees. All are either veterans or spouses of veterans. This makes them a pretty clutch crew. “Because of their background, EFG employees are used to prioritizing the mission and never losing sight of the client’s vision and goals,” Kinsler said. “They’re also of the mindset of helping others. Whether it’s helping a client meet certain needs, supporting veterans service organizations, or mentoring other Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses, helping is part of our people’s DNA.” It must be. In the past year the company grew its partner collaboration to include LMI, Deloitte, and several other notable entities, and expanded its client portfolio beyond the Department of Defense to include World Bank and a Fortune 500 company. Clearly, Echo Five’s “mission first” and “help others” mindset is an attractive combination. But Kinsler believes one additional element sets the company apart: “At EFG, our clients are the heroes of their successes. We don’t dictate; we facilitate. We provide them with unique, data driven and visual tools that turn the squishiness of organizational improvement into concrete solutions. And of course, above all else, we care. We do this work because we want to help our clients succeed.”
Can you imagine making the coveted INC 5000 list of fastest growing companies in America not once, not twice, but three times? It happened to IT Veterans, a service-disabled veteran-owned small business known for its expert technical consulting and innovative solutions, in 2018, 2019, and 2020. “It’s a pretty amazing accomplishment,” said Timothy Chabail, managing member, “as only one in four companies make the list twice.” While that may be IT Veterans’ most notable honor, it’s certainly not the only one. In 2019, the firm was awarded the HIRE Vets Gold Medallion, the only federal-level veterans’ employment award that recognizes a company’s or organization’s commitment to veteran hiring, retention, and professional development. That same year, the state of Virginia recognized IT Veterans with a Virginia Values Veterans Certified Company - 1st Award. Based in Herndon, with 33 full-time employees, 17 of them veterans, the decade-old technology consulting firm is today a multimillion-dollar company. Sought out by both the federal government and commercial sector clients, IT Veterans’ growth and success is due not only to its full life-cycle, cutting-edge solutions, but also its core, military-imbued values and work ethic.
For more information about Echo Five Group, visit echofivegroup.com.
For more information about IT Veterans, visit itveterans.com.
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THE BUSINESS VOICE
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FALL 2020
